ONE POT. Come on, does it get better than that on a Friday night? All you need is a good knife, a cutting board, a big skillet & maybe a cheese grater. That’s all the clean up! Top it all off with the fact that this meal only takes 30 minutes ( if that? ) & is STINKIN’ DELICIOUS! That’s my idea of a perfect Friday ( or Sunday, or Wednesday.. or any day. ) Minimal work, minimal clean up, lots of payoff.
This lemon & pepper orzo is freaking killer. There are just some times when all that will do is some yummy pasta. Which! Orzo is a pasta! Some people confuse it with rice, but it is a rice shaped pasta. And it’s so good. However, if you are living that GF life you could easily substitute real rice for the orzo.. but it may affect your cook time & how much liquid you’ll need!
Let’s see how quick we can make this happen.
In my one large skillet I start by sauteing my diced onions & carrots in some olive oil. I honestly don’t really like carrots, but they make it beautiful, are so good for you & I just ignore their minimal taste. I let those babies goes for about 5 minutes on medium heat until they are tender & starting to get a little golden. Next I add my chopped garlic cloves. It will smell amazing at this point.
Here’s the best part… the wine! If you’re not into cooking with wine ( first, um why? ) you can skip this step! I just add in my white wine & let it reduce for another couple of minutes.
After the wine has reduced I add all my orzo & chicken stock ( you could also just use water if you’re in a pinch, but it won’t be near as flavorful. ) I covered my skillet & let it all simmer on low until most of the liquid was absorbed – about 8-10 minutes. The orzo should be tender, but not tooooo tender if you know what I’m saying!
I turned off my heat & then added all of my goodies. Lemon zest, lemon juice, pepper, salt, chickpeas, butter, parmesan & arugula are my go-to’s. BUT the best part of this dish is that you can really make it your own.
You could do black beans! You could do asiago or goat cheese! You could do spinach! The world is your oyster, friend. Life is what you make it.
Typically with this dish I wait until the very end to add the butter, cheese & arugula. Mainly because I don’t want the butter & cheese to be too melty or for the arugula to be too wilty.
YOU’RE DONE! Aren’t you glad you gave this baby a chance!?
This is really the perfect vegetarian dinner or the perfect side to some roasted chicken. Okay, my mouth is drooling. BRB, making this forever.
Bon Appetit!
ellyn
SERVINGS: 4 ( if main ) or 6-8 ( if side dish )
TIME: 30 MINUTES
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion
- 2 medium carrots
- 2 large garlic cloves
- ½ cup white wine
- 2 cups orzo pasta
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1-2 teaspoons pepper – if you want it pretty peppery, go the full 2. That’s what we did & loved it, but it was pretty peppery!
- 1 tablespoon salt
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Juice of 1 lemon – about ¼ cup
- 1 can chickpeas, drained
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup grated parmesan
- 1 cup arugula
INSTRUCTIONS:
- In a large skillet, bring olive oil to medium high heat. Peel & chop onions & carrots. Add to skillet. Saute for around 5 minutes or until tender & golden.
- Add in chopped garlic – cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add white wine ( can omit! ) & let simmer for another 2 minutes until reduced.
- Add in orzo & chicken stock. Season with salt & pepper. Reduce heat to medium, cover & simmer until most of the moisture is absorbed – about 8-10 minutes. Orzo should be tender, but not mushy.
- Add in lemon zest, lemon juice & drain chickpeas.
- Remove pot from heat. Mix in butter, parmesan & arugula.
- Enjoy!
